Behind the Scenes - Throwing a Party with a Professional Planner

I guess I'd call myself a DIY/design blogger, but when I go to blogging conferences, I feel SO happy & "at home" with the party bloggers. What's not to love? They are AWESOME - so happy & full of life. 

I met Toni from Design Dazzle at SNAP & fell in love with her right away. When she invited me to help with the Mary Poppins party, I couldn't resist! I just published the "official" party post {HERE}, but I just wanted to share a "BACK STAGE, BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK" at what it was like to throw a party with a professional planner/stylist.  

Here are some things I learned:

1 - Think Big. One thing that I found shocking - yes, I say SHOCKING - is how much "bigger" a professional thinks. While I'm usually rummaging through drawers & closets to find things to use for my parties, they are using their wholesale accounts to purchase just the right thing to make the party sing. One exception: I did learn from a class that it's a good idea to collect serving dishes, cake plates & pedestals that are all one color - white was recommended because it goes with everything. Toni also doesn't hesitate rent equipment & do things like hire a professional artist to create custom graphics {i.e. the invitation & the sign behind the refreshments}.

Holly from Paisley Petal & Debbie from Made from Pinterest decorating for the big event

2- Use the Internet. Instead of running all over town, Toni used the internet for a lot of the party supplies & even for some of the food!

3 - Be Creative & Put Things Together Yourself.  Maybe there were some ready-made centerpieces for sale out there somewhere, but we made our own & they were SO cute. And I'm sure putting it together yourself saves a lot of money. Fabric was used a lot for this party to create a mood. "Yours truly" sewed a lot of the red gingham table cloths {if I don't sew another ruffle for a while, I won't be disappointed! Ha!}. Of course, we were thinking about all the other cute party themes that the table cloths could be used for: cowboy? country Christmas?, etc. 

Toni made her own supports for the wires that held the umbrellas {for shade & for fun!}. Here I am trying to run my design business on the phone while covering the poles with pretty fabric. {Photo from Design Dazzle}
4 - Get Help. This is something I'm really bad about. Toni enlisted lots of help to bring her party vision to fruition. I'm sure she could have done it all herself, but it probably would have taken months!

{CLICK HERE} for the tutorial on how to make the napkin holders

5 - Have Fun. Once the guests arrive, professional planners really know how to keep things moving & make it a . . . well a party!